EGYPT - Oriental Petrochemicals Co.

Formed in early 1996, OPC has Egypt's first poly-propylene (PP) plant in a new 10m sq metre free industrial zone developed by the private sector just south of Suez city. The 180,000 t/y plant, built by Toyo Engineering, went on stream in June 2001. It uses Union Carbide's Unipol process. It made OPC Egypt's second private exporter of petrochemicals on Sept. 18, as its first PP export cargo left the port of Suez. The shipment, witnessed by Petroleum Minister Fahmi, consisted of a 1,700-ton cargo worth $880,000. It was bound for Belgium, Greece, Spain, Algeria, Ghana, Nigeria and Dubai. Initially, OPC planned to export 25% of its output. Because local demand was high with Egypt consuming 220,000 t/y of PP, it decided to cut this to 10%. As demand for PP is rising by 8-10% per annum due to fast expansion of the carpets, synthetic textiles and electric cables industries, OPC is to double the plant's capacity. OPC imports the propylene feedstock. But imports will end when OPC's own 350,000 t/y propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant comes on stream. OPC is discussing this project with Lurgi Zimmer which has proposed the UOP process and with Samsung which would use the ABB Lummus Global technology.

Textile magnate Mohammed Faris Khamis is the man behind OPC. The main OPC shareholders are Khamis' Oriental Weavers Group and Misr American Carpet Mills. ENPPI holds 20%. Other partners include the Arab Int'l Investment Co., an Egypt-based entity owned largely by Libyan interests.

Originally, the OPC plant was to be built in Alexandria near EPC's Ameriya complex. But as Khamis was one of the main partners in the private industrial zone south of Suez and because this provided better tax breaks, OPC shifted away from Alexandria. The Alexandria free zone does provide tax breaks. But newer zones in remote and underdeveloped areas, such as the one being developed south of Suez city, get better tax breaks. This is why big private Egyptian, Arab and foreign investors now are interested in building new free industrial zones in Egypt as well as having new gas-based industries in such zones, because Gasco is committed to build pipelines and provide gas to all these areas.

Oriental Weavers Group (OWG), Egypt's leading carpet producer headed by Khamis, is to have a polyester plant alongside the PP facility at the Suez zone. In the first phase, to be completed by March 2005, the plant will have the capacity to produce 450 t/d of partially oriented yarn, and polyester staple fibre, filament and chips - mostly to be sold locally. It will either import its main feedstock, PTA, or buy it locally if by then EPC's PTA plant has started up. OWG will import the mono-ethylene glycol feedstock from abroad.

OWG gave the to build the plant to Lurgi Zimmer of Germany and the job is worth DM 173m ($79m). Lurgi Zimmer agreed to take a 10% equity in this. Each of the German development bank DEG and a group of Arab investors holds 10%, with 70% held by OWG and other end-users of polyester in Egypt.

The Egyptian Arab Trading Co. (Eatco) is to have Egypt's first methanol to olefins (MTO) complex built at the Damietta free industrial zone to produce methanol and 400,000 t/y of polyolefins: LLDPE, HDPE, propylene and PP. The $1,25 bn complex should start up in 2006.

The complex will use methane feedstock for methanol. The MTO process to be used has been developed jointly by UOP and Norsk Hydro. The Kvaerner Reforming/ICI low-pressure methanol process and Union Carbide's Unipol process may also be used. A detailed feasibility study for the project was completed in early 2000 by UOP and the US arm of Kvaerner Process, with the US Trade Development Agency having provided a $750,000 grant to cover part of the $2m costs of the technical and financial studies. BankAmerica completed a financial study in the first quarter of 2000.

The leader in this venture, called Eatco Petrochemical Co. (EPC), is the Cairo-based business tycoon Yahya A. El Komi, close to President Mubarak. Eatco is a partner of Union Finosa in the Spanish utility's LNG venture at Damietta (see OMT).

The Saudi TAAS Group Int'l is to have a 1.4m t/y integrated complex to be built in Damietta, Alexandria or Suez. With feedstocks for the cracker to be 70% ethane and 30% naphtha, this will produce 530,000 t/y of ethylene and a range of polyolefins. The first phase will cost about $900m.

TAAS in late 2001 was close to selecting a strategic partner for this, with EPC to take a 10% equity in the venture. TAAS has received approval from the Petroleum Ministry for the complex to use gas as feedstock. Previously, the venture was set to used only naphtha. .

The Saudi Egyptian Petrochemical Co. (Sepco) in late 2001 reached agreement with Lurgi Zimmer on a $300m job to build a 252,000 t/y polyester plant in Alexandria to produce partially oriented yarn, textile chips (used for clothing, home textiles, carpets and various industrial applications), and staple fibres (to blend with cotton & wool), and polyester resin (PET - used for bottled water and soft drink or edible oil packaging) for the local market and export. It is to start up in 2003.

The main partners in Sepco are the Jeddah-based business tycoon Ahmad Badeeb, who heads the Jehan Group, and the Midroc which is part of the Saudi-based Al Amoudi Group. Swedish-based Midroc Engineering will work with Lurgi Zimmer in building the plant.